Continuous motion wrapping machine



Feb. 6, 1940. E. l.. SMITH Er AL CONTINUOUS MOTION WRAPPING MACHINE Filed July 28, 193s 4 Sheets-Sheet l' Feb. 6, 1940. O E. L, SMH-H, E; AL 2,189,087

CONTINUOUS MOTION WRAPPING MACHINE Filed July 28, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 AT RNEYS Feb. 6, 1940.

E. L. SMITH ET AL CONTINUOUS MOTION WRAPPING MACHINE Filed July 28, 1936 v Y 4 Sheets-Shet 3 Feb. 6, 1940. E. 1 SMITH ET AL.

- CONTINUOUS MOTION WRAPPING MACHINE Filed July 28, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 AK?. Z/

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INVENTORS E'L/vn? .J/wrf/ ,4l/ro BY CM2 ran' hma ATT RNEYS 35 rearwardly with respect to the article.

Patented Feb. 6, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTINUOUS MOTION WRAPPING MACHINE Application July 2s, 1936, serial No. 92,972

7 claims. w1. 93-2) This invention relates to machines for wrapping articles, and has particular .reference in some of its aspects to-such machines when designed to operate continuously with respect to the manner in which the article -is forwarded through the machine. y

In some particulars the machine is an irnprovement over those of the type employing two continuously moving article forwarding conveyors arranged at right angles to each other. The first conveyor of machines of this type carries the article through wrapping mechanism which vfolds the wrapper around ve sides of the article, leaving a tubular wrapper extension at the rear. In order to disengag-e the article from the rst conveyor in order to permit it being carried .by the second conveyor in a direction at right angles to that of its original travel the article pushers of the rst conveyor have previously been arranged to withdraw rearwardly from the tubular extension as they approached the position where the article was to change its direction of travel. This construction proved to be the limiting factor as to the permissible speed of travel of the conveyors on account of the inertial factors set up by the reversal of movement of the pushers and the frictionalv forces due to the cam mechanism which was required. It is one object to improve machines of this type nso that the con- 80 struction of the rst conveyor can be simplified and the speed of the machine materially increased. In accordance with the present invention this is done by moving the article ahead of the iirst pushers instead of moving these pushers In the 'preferred embodiment this. additive forward movement of the article is accomplished. by mechanism which operates to position the article against an abutment with no tendency to 40 rebound even when the machine is operated at very high speeds. In actual production the mav chine of the present invention has been operated at speeds up to 280 articles perminute, the articles being of a size which have been wrapped 45 on previous machines at a maximum speed of 125'articles per minute.

A further object is to improve the means for supplying a sealing liquid to the wrappers, whereby there will be no danger of an'oversupply 50 of sealing liquid when the machine is temporarily Additional objects will appear from the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawings,v

Fig. 1 is a plan view ofthe machine, with certain parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a detailed vertical section, on an enlarged scale, of the terminal portion of the rst conveyor and the mechanism for moving the article forwardly out of range of this conveyor into position for being picked up by the second lo conveyor, the parts being shown in a position where the article is still being carried by the pushers on the rst conveyor;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective of certain of the parts shown in Fig. 2, illustrating the manner u in which the article is engaged and carried ahead of the first pushers;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the machine, showing the paper feed and the rst conveyor, certain parts being broken away for clarity;

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 2 but showing the parts in the positions they occupy at a later time;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section showing the manner in which the article is engaged by the pushers of the rst conveyor;

Fig. 7 is a section on line 1--7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through the second conveyor, taken on line 8 8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a detail of the terminal portion of 30 the second conveyor and of the article stacking mechanism, looking from the opposite side of the second conveyor from Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a detail similar to Figs. Zand 5 showing a still later stage in the fcrwarding of the article;

Fig. 11 is a perspective detail of the article as it is being carried along by the second conveyor, showing the making of the front and rear tucks in the tubular wrapper extension;

Fig. 12 is a detail of the driving connections for the rotary folder and sealing liquid applying device shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 13 is a section on line I3-l3 of Fig. 1, showing the article feeding-in conveyor; Fig. 14 is a section on line III-I4 of Fig. 1, v showing the rst conveyor and its associated folding and sealing mechanism;

Fig. 15 is a section on line I 5-l5 of Fig. 1, showing the rst conveyor and the associated sealing mechanism; and y Fig. 16 is a detail side elevation, looking from the opposite side of the machine from that shown in Fig'. 4, showing'the driving means for the wrapper feed. lf

'I'he description of the machine will be begun with the wrapping machine proper, leaving the wrapper feed and the article feeding-in conveyor for later consideration. The frame 20 of the machine carries a bed plate or table 2| upon which the articles are supported during their travel. Underneath this bed are supported a pair of spaced horizontal shafts 22 and 23, carryving pairs of sprockets 24 and 25 respectively. Spaced chains 26 are carried by these sprockets, and serve to carry the first series of pushers in a mannerto be described. The chains travel continuously, and their upper runs are supported by rails 21 (Fig. 15) supported from the frame by brackets 28. The shaft 23 bears a pulley 29 (Fig. 4), coupled to a pulley 30 on the shaft 3| of a suitable motor by a belt 32. This belt is made long enough so that it will be slack except when tensioned by a pulley 33 mounted on arms 34 pivotedv to the frame at 35. The pulley is shown in Fig. 4 in belt-slackening position in full lines, and in belt-tightening position in dotted lines. For operating the tightening pulley one of the arms 34 is connectedby a linkA 36 with an arm 31 on a shaft 38 mounted in the frame and provided With.a handle 39. By swinging this handle the first conveyor, as Well as all the other moving mechanism, can be started or stopped at the will of the operator. The same handle conpart of its run as shown in Fig. 2. The pusher .passes to its positions above and below the bed 2| through holes 43 and 44 (Fig. 1), while the plate extends during the straight part of its run through a slot 45 (Fig. 3). 'I'he forward end of the pusher contacts the rear end ofthe article to be moved, and preferably is provided with a small downwardly extending lug 46 which as shown in Fig. 6 lies within the slot 45 to insure that adequate contact will be made with the lower edge of the article. The article is more rigid at this point than at the central portion of its end, and the described construction insures that the pusher will cause no damage to the article end. The wrapper is folded around the article and also around the lug 46, as will be described further on and as is shown in Fig. 2, but

I I the lug is of insuicient size to cause. any del+ eterious distortion of the wrapper -at this point.

The article, which is fed into position in front of one of the pushers in a manner to be described, is carried forward by this continuously traveling pusher so as to contact a. wrapper w fed downwardly through a slot 50 (Fig. 14) in the'bed 2|. The wrapperis folded over the top and bottom of the article by vcontact with a top plate A5| and with the bed 2l respectively. Side tucks b (Fig. 3) are formed by tucking plates 52 Fig. 14) and side folds c and d -by plates 53 and 54. 'I'hese stationary 'folders are of the standard type and detailed description is unnecessary. After the tucks b and the upper side folds c are made the lower extending side aps d pass underneath wheels 55, the operation of which will be'considered in more detail below, and re. ceive a stripe of sealing liquidon their upper passing around the sprocket 63.

' rear edge of the article and tending to lstrip the wrapper therefrom. The. slippage of the lug over the article edge also hasl surfaces which serves to cause them to adhere to the folds c when the flaps d are folded into contact with them by the nal folding plates 54. 'Ihe package then passes between heating plates 56 (Fig. 1), preferably spring pressed together in the usual manner as by fiat springs 51, which cause thorough adherence of the naps. and evaporate any excess of sealing'liquid. The packages are then carried by the continuously moving pushers between holding plates 58 which are preferably vset so as to hold thefsides of the package with somewhat less force than was exerted upon them by the heaters. It is between these latter plates that the article is engaged by the secondary forwarding means which' frees it from the pushers.

This secondary feeding means comprises a lug 66 (Fig. 2) carried by a chain 6| supported on sprockets 62 and 63. The chain is mounted centrally of the rst wrapping channel, as is shown in Fig. 1, and is driven at a surface speed somewhat greater than the speed of the pushers 42. Fig. 2 shows the article being forwarded by the pushers 42 and the lug 60 about to round the sprocket 62 into position to engage the rear side of the article. It will be remembered that the wrapper at this time has been folded completely around the article except for its rear side; and in order to contact the rear end of the article it is-necessary to bend the tubular extension of the wrapper downwardly so that the lug 60 can bear against the upper rear corner ofthe article, without forminga fold which will interfere with the later folding operations to be performed in the second folding channel. In order to permit this false fold to be made without any permanent creasing of the wrapper the lug 60 is, in accordance with the present invention,

made with a convex article-contacting face 64 which is preferably in substantially the form of a quadrant of a circle. The manner in which the curved face 64 initially contacts the article. and produces this false tuck is shown in Fig. 3. At

the time when this contact is made the article has passed the heaters 56 and is located between the plates 58 which, as stated above, are preferably less rmly pressed against the article then the heaters. The article isr thus comparatively free, and can be given a rapid forward accelerationby the lug 60'A without the latter exerting a pressure on the wrapper .great venough to permanently crease it.

In Fig. 5 the article is shown as being cleared entirely from the pusher 42 which initially eny gaged it, and as being on its way towardsthe abutment 65 which stops its forward motion in lposition to be engaged by the second conveyor.

At the time-of engagement of the leading end of' lDuring this the article with this abutment the lug y661s elevated by reason of the chain which carries it vmotionv the curved form of the contacting face of the lug again comes into play, the curved sur'- face of the lug sliding smoothly over the upper exerting no force the function of permitting the article to come to rest with a gradual motion and preventing any rebound when the article strikes the abutment.

This is of considerable importance, as thespeed of the article along the channel is very high, and even a slight rebounding action wouldshift'the nal position of the article .suiciently to cause u it to jam when the secondfconveyor started to carry it along the second/(folding channel.

The second folding channel is formed by the plate 2| acting as aoor, and by side guides 66 and 61. The former of these is `conveniently formed as a continuation of the abutment 65, and the leading end 68 (Fig. 8) of the latter acts as a tucker for'what is now the leading side of the tubular extension of the wrapper. A removable top plate 69, omitted from Fig. 1 in order to revealA other parts, holds the articles in position above the-bed. The articles are carried in succession along the second folding channel by T- shaped pushers 10 mounted on a centrally disposed chain 1| passing over a terminal sprocket 12, a driven sprocket 13, and an idling and tightening sprocket 14. The pushers 10, like the pushers 42, move continuously, but since there is no longer any rearwardly projecting wrapper extension there is no longer any necessity of' having these pushers constructed with a forwardly projecting portion. They are therefore made in simple block form, their stems passing through a slot 15 (Fig. 11)' in the bed 2|. At the end of the second channeladjacent the first channel the T-shaped pushers 10 swing upwardly beyond the end of the bed, while at the other end they swing downwardly through an aperture 16 (Fig. 1). o

While the package is against the abutment 65 the rear tuck d in thetubular extension is turned machine.

in by a blade 80 (Figs, 8 and l-l) on a rotary folding wheel 8|. This wheel is driven continuously in a manner to be described, and has a plurality of blades arranged to contact successive articles. The blade turns in the rear tuck at about the time the article is engaged by the pusher 10. The speed of the pusher is preferably higher than the speed of the blade, so that the article is carried away from the latter. However, even if the blade in its circular movement strikes against the lower extending flap the contact will be for such a short time and over such a. slight area, thatthe bending of the flap will give it no bend which will not be taken out by the later action of the folding plate. The front .tuck e is, as before described, made by the tucker 68. After the formation of the tucks the lower flap is carried over a wheel 82 dipping into a trough 83 and serving to apply a stripe of sealing liquid to the lower side of the flap. The flap f is folded upwardly by a stationary folding plate 84, and the upper flap g is folded downwardly over it Aby a stationary folding plate 85. The completely wrapped package then passes between heaters 86 and cooling plates 81.

The packages have proceeded thus far along the second folding channel in a spaced relation determined by the spacing of the pushers 10. They are now assembled in overlapping relationship so as to facilitate their removal from the Due to the extremely high speed at which the machine is designed to operate it would be diilicult to dispose of the wrapped-packages with sucient rapidity were they to be fed into the delivery chute in the customary end to end relation. In accordance with the present invention the articles are both tilted and overlapped so that they can be picked up manually in groups without handling the articles individually.

As the pushers 10 descend through the aperture 16 the articles are left upon the bed 2| and are carried forward from that point solely by the pressure of the articles following them. The Wrapped articles are thus forced in aA continuous stream up a slanting riser or ledge 88, and are kicked downwardly into the overlapping relationship shown in Figs. 8 and 9 by an oscilj"lating paddle 89 which makes one downward stroke for each article. The high speed of the machine is here utilized for obtaining the desired relationship, since the articles are projected beyond the end of the riser with such speed that they do not have a chance to turn or fall until they are struck by the paddle and carried downwardly at the desired angle. They come to rest on a delivery conveyor 90 provided with spacing lugs 9| which support the articles the desired distance apart and with the proper slant so that they continue in their overlapping position. This delivery conveyor is driven as by a chain and sprocket connection 92 from the shaft 93 of the. terminal sprocket 12 of the second conveyor, and is hence driven in timed relation to that conveyor but at a lower speed.

The paddle 89 is secured to a shaft 94 (Figs. 1 and 9) journaled in suitable bearingsand having fixed to it an arm 95 at the lower end of which is a collar 96 through which a rod 91 slides freely. The other end of this rod is pivoted to a crank pin 98 on a crank 99 carried by the shaft 93. A spring bearsagainst the collar 96 at one end and at the other against a collar |0| fixed on the rod 91. A second collar |02 also fixed tothe rod bears against the side of the collar 96 opposite the spring. By this means the paddle is oscillated upwardly with a positive motion and downwardly with a yield- `ing connection so that if the packages become jammed the paddle will not crush them.

The articles are fed into the machine by a belt conveyor which carries them in a continuous stream between side guides |06 against a stop |01. The belt |05 is driven by a pulley |08 rotated through bevel gearing |09 from the shaft 22. The speed of the belt is set so that the forward motion of the articles is practically continuous, the articles being picked up one at a time from their position against the stop |01 by the pushers 42.

The wrapping material is supplied to the machine from a reel ||0, and is regulated in its tension by the usual brake and tension roller H2. The web is forwarded by a pair of feed rolls ||3 and ||4 which rotate continuously and are journaled in a plate ||5 adjustable vertically on posts ||6 by a hand screw ||1. The roll ||3 is provided with a gear ||8 (Fig. 16) meshing throughl a change gear ||9 with a gear |20 on a cutter shaft |2| also journaled in the plate ||5. This cutter shaft is coupled through 'a chain and sprocket connection |22 with a shaft |23 journaled in a J-shaped bracket |24 pivoted on the shaft 22 and having an arcuate bolt and" slot connection |25 with the frame. By swinging the bracket |24 around the shaft 22 the chain |22 canbe kept tight in any position of vertical adjustment of the paper feed mechanism. The cutter shaft |2| carries a rotary cutter blade |26 coacting with a stationary blade |21. The feed roll ||4 is preferably mounted on a bracket |28 pivoted on the plate ||5 and carrying at its upper end a pivoted vyoke |29 adapted to t over a spring pressed stud |38 and against a suitable stop I3 I. The web is i ed downwardly at a constant rate by the feed rolls into a guide way formed by the upturned end |32 of the nop plate 5| (Fig. 14) and a guide pme |33.

The cutter is timed to sever a sheet just as the lower end of the web is engaged by the article,

so that theY web itself is never brought to rest and no terminal stop on the paper guideway is necessary. If a material like some of the regenerated cellulose wrappers is to be used it may be preferable to provide stationary interfitting wire guides |34 to impart a temporary longitudinal crimp to the web and thus increase its rigidity in a known way.

The first adhesive applying rolls 55 are mounted upon squared shafts |35 (Figs. 1 and 15) journaled in brackets |36 and |31. The brackets |36 have a screw and slot connection |38 with the brackets |31, so that the rolls can be shifted laterally to accommodate different article widths, and the latter bracket has a rib |39 (Fig. 15) which serves to keep the bearing bracket |36 always in proper alignment. Each squared shaft |35 is joined by a chain and sprocket 'connection |40 with a shaft |4| also journaled in the brackets |31 at a point underneath the bed 2|. The latter shaft is provided with sprockets |42 which engage the lower runsv of the chains 26 and perform the double function of supporting these chains at an intermediate point of their length and of drawing p ower from them to operate the rolls 55.

The sealing liquid is supplied to the rolls 55 from reservoirs |45 (Figs. 1 and 4) of the fountain feedbottle type held between a stand |46, provided with a suitable well, and an upper clamp |41. Both the stand and the clamp are mounted on a vertically movable rod '|40 for a purpose to appear. Aflexible tube |49 joins each of the stands |46 to an open topped funnel-shaped feeder |50 associated with one ofl the rolls 55.

The feeder |50 is formed with a side slot within which theroll ts snugly. Aslong as the roll is rotating in a direction to pass downwardlythrough the slot it will carry .a quantity of liquid determined by thel clearance between the roll and the slot walls.l When the machine is stopped, however, the liquid would tend to ooze out the space between the wheel and the feeder slot, and mechanism has therefore been provided for preventing this by lowering the fountain feed coincidentally with the stopping of the machine and to a sufiicient degree to cause theliquid to drain backwardly out of the feeders.

For this purpose the shaft 38 which carries the machine controlling handle 39 is provided, as bestshown in Fig. 4, with arms |5| positioned to contact the lower end of each of the rods |48 when the handle is in its belt-tightening position. As long as the machine is running the fountain feed is therefore raised into an operative position, but when the machine is stopped the fountain feed will be lowered so that it is no longer effective to maintain a level of liquid in the feeder |50.

to a very simple driving mechanism. Power being supplied to the shaft 23 as described the first conveyor is driven directly from that shaft; and

the feeding-in conveyor, the paper feed, and the first sealing liquid applying rolls. are all driven from the first conveyor. The short forwarding conveyor 6| is driven' from-theshaft 23- -by achain |55 passing around a sprocket on the shaft and around an idler sprocket |56 (Fig. 4), en-

',Zaglng on its outer surface with a sprocket |51 on the vshaft |58 of the conveyor sprocket 63. The shaft |50 (Fig. 12) which carries the sprocket 1I of the second conveyor is driven from the shaft 23 by bevel gears |6| (Fig. 1). 'I'he shaft |60 also carries a sprocket |62 joined by a chain |63 with a sprocket |64 on the shaft of the rotary folder'8l and with a sprocket |65 on the shaft of the sealing liquid applying wheel 82.

We claim:

1. A wrapping machine comprising two wrapper folding channels at right angles .to each other, a continuously moving series of article forwarding pushers passing through the rst channel and each having a forwardly extending portion, the first channel and said pushers being so coordinated that as an article and wrapper are forwar\ded through said channel 'by each of said pushers lthe wrapper. will be folded around ve sides of the article and around the forwardly extending portion of said pusher, a second series of continuously moving article forwarding pushers carrying the articles through the second channel, and supplementary article forwarding means contacting the rearsides of articles being forwarded by the pushers of the first series and moving said articles ahead of said pushers i'to position to be received by the pushers ofthe second series.

2. A wrapping machine comprising two wrapper folding channels at right angles to each other, a continuously moving series of article forwarding pushers passing through the first channel and each having a forwardly extending pori tion of less area than the face of the article with which it contacts, the first channel and said pushers being so coordinated that as an article and wrapper are forwarded through said channel by each of said pushers the wrapper will be folded around five sides of the article and around the forwardly extending portion of said' pusher, a

warding pushers carrying the articles through the second channel, an endless conveyor positioned parallel to and adjacent to' the line of movement of thepushers of the first series and traveling at a higher rate of speed than said pushers,

conveyor in position to engage the rear of the article engaged by a pusher of the first series by pressure exerted through the tubular extension of the wrapper.

3. A wrapping machine comprising two wrapper folding channels at 'right angles to each other, a continuously moving series of article forwarding pushers passing through the rst channel\a'nd each having a forwardly extending portion of less area than the face of the article with which it contacts, said forwardly projecting portion having. a lug extending into position to overlap one edge of the rear of the article and to cause the article to be forwarded by pressure exerted on said edge, the first channel and said pushers being so coordinated lthat as an article and wrapper are forwarded through said channel by each of said pushers the wrapper will be folded around five sides of `the article and a ound theA forward] f extending portion of said usher and said lug, a second series of continu usly moving article forwarding pushers carrying the articles through the second channel, yan endless conveyor positioned parallel to and adjacent'.l to the line of jmovement ofthe pushers of the first series and second series of continuously moving'article forand one or more pushing elements carried by said traveling at a higher rate vof speed than said pushers, and one or more pushing elements carried by said conveyor in position to engage the rear of an article engaged by a pusher of the first series by pressure exerted through the tubular extension of the wrapper and to move said article forwardly to clear the tubular wrapper extenarcane? sion from the forwardly projecting portion of said pusher and from said lug.

4. A wrapping machine comprising two wrapper folding channels at right angles to each other, a .continuously moving series of article -forwarding pushers passing through the rst vmovement of the pushers of the first series and traveling at a higher rate of speed than said pushers, and one or more pushing elements carriedby saidconveyor and having a pushing surface substantially in the form of a quadrant of a circle to engage the rear edge of the face of an article engaged by a pusher of the first series by pressure exerted through the tubular extension of the wrapper, and to pass out of contact with said edge gradually so las to leave the article in position to be engaged by a pusher of the second series without leaving a permanent fold in the tubular extension of the wrapper.

5. A wrapping machine comprising a channel, means for forming a wrapper into a tube enclosing five sides of an article and extending rearwardly as a tubular extension beyond the -sixth side, and a conveying member constantly advancing in an endless path at one side of the channel, said path being so located that the member enters and leaves the channel `in tilted position, the member being curved on its pushing face so as to leave the article with a sliding movement as the member tilts in its withdrawal from the channel and shaped to contact the partially wrapped article on one rear corner by pressing against said corner a portion of the wrapper throughout an area insufficient to form a permanent fold therein..

6. A wrappingmachine comprising a channel, means for forming a wrapper into a tube enclosing five sides of an article and extending rearwardly as a tubular extension beyondthe t sixth side, a fixed stop positioned to arrest movement of the article along the channel, and a conveying member .constantly advancing in an endless path at one side of the channel, said path being so located that the member enters and leaves the channel' in tilted position, the member being curved on its pushing face so as to leave the article with a sliding movement as the member tilts in its withdrawal from the channel and to bring the article gradually to rest against the stop and shaped to contact the partially wrapped article on one rear corner by pressing against said corner a portion of the wrapper throughout an area insuiiicient to form a permanent fold therein.

7. A wrapping machine comprising a wrapper folding channel, a pusher for forwarding an article along said channel having a suillcient ex Vtent in the direction of the channel to permit a wrapper folded around the article to extend rearwardly around the pusher, said pusher having an article engaging projection substantially'ush with the forward end of the pusher and extending below thev channel in a plane at right angles thereto a distance sufiicient to permit full engagement between the pusher and the lower rear corner of the article but insuilcient to prevent the wrapper from extending rearwardly beyond the article around the pusher, and means associated with the channel for folding a wrapper aroundthe forward end and at least two adjacent sides of the article and around the article 01' contacting portion of the pusher.

-' EIMER L. SMITH. 

